


A Season of Change

by nightfalltwen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Background Slash, Cross-Generation Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-23 00:32:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3748780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfalltwen/pseuds/nightfalltwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fresh out of Hogwarts and ready to do some good before settling down in a career, Rose has volunteered her summer to a planning committee for a charity event being hosted at Nott Estate and after one late night leads to another, it becomes so much more involved than she ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Season of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 **hp_deflower** fest at livejournal. I had a lot of fun with this prompt. Rose/Theo has become a favourite crossgen pairing of mine. Working with characters that are such blank slates is always fascinating to me. Thank you so much to my beta, **cryptaknight** , who is always there to pull me back from the brink as well as helping me figure out the ending. ILU!!

*~*~*~*

_July 1st, 2025_

As the car took the turn a little faster than it ought to, Rose's hands came up and her fingers curled tightly around the strap that sat diagonally across her chest. She closed her eyes and sighed, a jittery feeling in her stomach. Whether it was nerves or it was her father's driving, she didn't know. After a few deep breaths, a few more tight curves and the feeling not going away, Rose figured it was the latter. Even being raised with her mother's muggleborn background, Rose had never much cared for automobile transportation.

"I'll apparate home," she said with a wavering smile.

"It's alright, Rosie, I'll come get you," said Ron as he shifted gears. The car made a rather unhealthy noise of protest before moving onward. Confounding the driving adjudicator or not, after all these years, he'd still not truly mastered the concept of a smooth gear shift. "I don't mind; I like driving."

"It's silly, Dad." Rose let go of the seat belt and crossed her arms. "I passed my apparition licensing exam without splinching. I can get myself home. You don't need to drive all the way back and forth from Sussex to Derbyshire."

"I don't like the idea of you getting yourself home on your own." Ron gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter.

"Dad. I'm eighteen. I apparated to Hogsmeade and back last night to get Hugo some ice mice. I'm not eleven anymore." She glanced over at her father and watched his jaw flex, knowing that he wasn't happy.

She didn't exactly blame him. Of all the work she could have gotten involved with after leaving school, good paying work that was available, she'd asked to spend a summer doing something philanthropic instead of leaping straight into the workforce. There were so many charities crying out for volunteers. She hadn't wanted to commit to something that was ongoing, so when the opportunity to plan a single event within one of the bigger organisations came up, she'd put her name down.

Ron slowed the car and turned it onto a drive. The wrought iron gate that crossed their path began to open and once it was wide enough for the car to fit, they drove onward. As the house came into view, Rose's mouth opened slightly. She'd always thought their home in Sussex was fair to middling in size, but compared to this home, it was miniscule. Even Scorpius' manor, which she had only visited a few times for birthday parties, seemed to dwarf in comparison.

"I want you to take this," Ron said, once they'd parked, digging into his pocket and pulling out a worn coin. He held it out. "Your mum made a coin like this back when we were in fifth year. Protean charms and all that. Just signal with it if you need me to come and get you."

Rose was about to roll her eyes, but she thought better and took the coin, shoving it into her bag. Leaning across the seat, she kissed his cheek. "You're not leaving me to my doom, Dad."

"Nott was one of those Slytherins that… just didn't own up to his involvement in the war and that really chaps my arse."

"You have to let it go," Rose gripped the door handle and pulled on it. The door unlatched and swung open. "It's been more than twenty years and if he wasn't on the level, do you really think he'd be throwing a charity benefit?"

Ron grumbled, but finally nodded. Rose slid out of the car and waved at him before shutting the door. When he didn't immediately drive off, she sighed, knowing that he was going to watch her until she was safely inside. So, turning on her heel, she walked up to the enormous front door and knocked. It took a number of minutes, but soon the door opened and a small elf stood waiting. 

Rose had never seen a house elf in person. Scorpius' father had some sort of issue with how creepy he found them as well as the last Malfoy elf being Dobby and Rose knew how _that_ had turned out. Suffice it to say, the Malfoys only employed squib servants these days. Rose suspected that if this had not been the case, her friendship with Scorpius Malfoy would have been a lot harder to maintain. Her parents would have continuously balked at the idea. 

Despite her family being as loving as they were, sometimes she felt that they were just as prejudiced as elite purebloods. Just in a different way.

"Hello," she said, smiling at the elf. "Rose Weasley to see Mister Nott. I'm on the Gringotts Benefit planning committee."

The elf tugged at its clean pillowcase and nodded, stepping back to allow her access. Rose turned and gave one last wave to her father before the door closed. She waited a moment until she heard the engine start and then the tires crunch on the gravel as it turned around. Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she followed the elf further into the house.

The inside gave no indication of how big it really was. The ceilings were standard height, ornately decorated with paint and moldings. Portraits hung on the wall and Rose wished to stop and study them but the elf made no pause, so she quickened her stride to catch up. He led her into what felt like a sitting room, but probably had a much fancier name. Dark wood lined the walls and there was a fire crackling in the fireplace. Quickly, she realised that the fire was needed. Despite the warmth of the summer day, the house had an eerie chill to it.

In one of the armchairs that faced the fire, sat a man reading the daily prophet. He glanced up at her as she entered the room and Rose hesitated, caught off guard. She'd seen handsome men before; Scorpius was generally considered good looking by nearly everyone in her Hogwarts class, but this man was on a completely different level in the looks department. So much so that Rose felt unsure of what to do next. She shifted uneasily and then lowered herself onto one of the sofas. Waiting for someone else, namely Mr Nott, to join them.

"Hello I'm Rose. Rose Weasley. Have you been organising charity functions for the Notts for very long?" she asked after the silence became too unbearable. 

"No, this would be the first," he answered, regarding her with a somewhat amused expression.

She swallowed and looked around the room, wishing to try and find something else besides his face to focus on. "I must have gotten things mixed around. I thought that the committee was for those who had just finished Hogwarts. But it is nice to see that there are some older people who haven't given up on charity organisation. Do you know the family at all? My dad doesn't seem to think they're on the up and up, but I think that's silly. Why wouldn't they be?"

A few voices could be heard in the corridor and that stopped her chatter. It also stopped him from answering her questions and kept her from asking for a proper introduction. Three other people entered the sitting room. Two were witches that she only vaguely recognised from Hogwarts, one maybe two years ahead of her. And one was someone she definitely knew. A wave of relief washed over her. She gave Scorpius a wave and met his smile with one of her own.

He didn't immediately come across and sit with her. Instead he walked directly over to the older man and held out his hand.

"Dad sends his regards, Uncle Theodore. Mum wants to know if you want to have dinner with us on Sunday."

Theodore clasped Scorpius' hand briefly, his eyes catching Rose's. "That all depends on whether or not she's sacked that horrible cook of hers. My stable elves do better with roasts than she does."

Rose sucked in a breath as Scorpius found a seat next to her. She could feel her face going hot with embarrassment as everything clicked into place. She hadn't even waited for him to introduce himself before chattering away like a squirrel. Now he knew that she realised her blunder in not having studied a photograph to know with whom she was dealing. It was so embarrassing. Theodore Nott had been the name on the committee roster, of course, and she knew that he had been in the same year as her parents, but she'd never expected it to be someone who looked as young as the man now standing by the fire. She'd placed him in his mid-twenties, but now that she knew who he was, she could see that she'd been wrong. This man was fit, far more fit than her father, but upon a longer study, she could see the few lines in his striking face. It was the only thing that seemed to indicate his age.

"Normally I would not need volunteers to arrange a gala." Coloured folders flew into the room from a summoning spell. Theodore began to hand them out. "But I've been out of the country for the last six months and was asked to host the event at the last minute. I'll assign you each your own tasks. We have six weeks."

*~*~*~*

_July 15th, 2025_

"You don't say much," Scorpius said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her. He reached out and gave a poke to her shoulder "Considering how much I know you _can_ talk, I'm afraid I'm starting to become rather alarmed."

"Do you bother Al like this when he's busy?" she asked, reaching for another folder.

Two weeks into the project and they'd already lost the other two volunteers. Whether it was the fact that Theodore seemed to dismiss all the theme suggestions that everyone put forth or something else, Rose didn't know. All she did know was that she was now in charge of theme, decorations and activities. Theme was hard enough. Theodore didn't want a costume gala, he didn't want any sort of gala, he didn't want a bachelor auction, he didn't want a glamourous dinner. Nothing seemed to be what he wanted. And the only hint that she had to go on was that he wanted it to be unlike any other function.

Scorpius, in charge of food and beverages, gave her another prod. Rose swatted away his hand. 

"Al puts aside his work when I start to bother him so I don't _have_ to resort to petty distractions."

"Well I'm not Albus; I don't love you like he does, and you're being annoying."

"Liar. You do love me. Everyone loves me. Besides, I can't move on the menu without knowing what the theme is."

Rose sighed and pushed aside all the files, getting to her feet. "I need to get out of the house. If you haven't picked the wine, then go find out what sort of vintages Mr Nott feels like he can part with for this event. Maybe he can donate a bottle to be a door prize at the end of the event. I need to think."

Without giving her friend a chance to respond, she fled the room. At first she got a little turned about and instead of exiting the front door, she found a side door that led out into the rear of the house. Part of her wanted to just apparate home. Uncle Harry's birthday was in a couple of weeks and her parents expected her to be free for the party, but she didn't see how this was the case with only four weeks left to plan a massive event. And she didn't have the heart to tell them that she was probably going to be busy.

Walking down a stone path with folded arms, Rose was struck with just how quiet and expansive the grounds really were. The house backed onto massive amounts of land. When they'd done the tour on the first day, Theodore Nott had pointed out that everything they saw was part of the estate. The borders were far enough away that they couldn't see them with the naked eye. 

Apart from the rolling hills, at the bottom of the path was an enormous building. Rose hadn't realised that a stable for horses could be so huge. But ostentatious seemed to be a familiar word in the world of the Notts.

There had been no restrictions on where they could go on the grounds, aside from the obvious 'private chambers', so without hesitating, Rose pushed open the large door to the stables and stepped inside. The air in the building was a mixture of sweet hay and leather saddles. There was even a hint of horse manure, but it didn't offend. It was actually comforting in a way. It was a natural smell that had to be appreciated considering how impeccably clean the stables were. Rose walked along the length of the room, peering into each stall. Not all of them were full, but there were more animals than Rose thought anyone could truly take care of. At least anyone normal.

There was a snuffling sound to her left and she smiled when a large chestnut horse stretched out its head at her, lips pulling at the air.

"I don't have any treats," she said softly, lifting a hand with her palm flat. The horse wiggled its lips along her fingers and then snorted in what seemed like disgust. Rose turned her fingers and gave the velvety spot between its nostrils a rub. "Are you bored? I haven't ridden since before I was at Hogwarts, so I don't think I'm the best choice for you." Stepping closer, she ran her hand along the side of its face and down along the neck. "But tell you what. You help me come up with something fantastic for this charity and there will be a whole bucket of carrots in your future…"

"Apples," spoke a voice from behind her.

Rose yelped and the horse startled, backing up and swinging its head. Behind the stall door, Rose could hear it pawing at the ground with its hoof. She spun around to face the offending voice, about to let loose a tirade on sneaking up on people. The angry rant died on her lips when she realised who it was and she could feel her cheeks heat up. 

She hadn't seen Theodore Nott all morning and now there he stood, reins in hand as he led the largest black horse she had ever seen to a stall a few doors down from the chestnut. Obviously he'd been out riding. Upon closer inspection she could see that his hair was a bit damp and his face more flushed than she had ever seen it over the last fortnight. Her eyes dropped briefly to note that his tall boots and riding trousers were a far, far, cry from the exquisitely cut suits he usually wore. They were also a _lot_ more fitted.

Sucking in a quick breath, she watched as he handed off the reins to an elf and let the horse be taken into its stall.

"Apples?" she asked, her voice making this embarrassing squeak that she instantly regretted.

He gestured to the chestnut. "Marseilles prefers apples over carrots. If you intend to bribe her services, she'd do better with apples."

"Oh. Oh of course!" Rose turned back to the stall, hoping that more interest in the mare than embarrassment showed on her face. She didn't want to let on that she still had no idea what to do about the theme for the event. So she reached her arm over the stall door and held her palm flat to the horse. "Have you had them long?"

She felt, rather than heard, him step closer. "All my life," he said. To Rose's surprise, he reached out and tugged back her hand, his fingers slipping around her fingers for a moment before he produced a hard, unripe, apple to place in her hand. "Marseilles, my oldest, has been with my family since just before I went to Hogwarts She was a foal then. Goliath, the black over there, is a new addition and the others... over the last few years." 

He let go of her fingers and gestured for her to offer the apple, which Marseilles gobbled up with excitement. Theodore Nott continued to speak. It was, quite possibly, the longest that Rose could remember him talking to her without Scorpius being there.

"I prefer them, for the most part, to human company. Horses do not care what your father did or what you chose to do when you were young. Horses only look for a few different things… someone to feed them, someone to brush them and someone to run them."

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you hosting a party?" She looked over at him, watching his face and slowly starting to forget how close he was standing to her.

His face darkened slightly. "I was _reminded_ that I had not done my part to give back to the Wizarding World."

"It's nice though," she said. "That you agreed." When he didn't speak, she bit the inside of her cheek and scrunched up her nose, trying to think of the best thing to say. Instead she just said the first thing that came to mind. "We should invite your horses."

Rose could feel him looking at her. She didn't know if it was disappointment or anger. She didn't exactly concern herself with that because she'd just realised something and the wheels in her head had begun turning at such a rate that her thoughts were getting ahead of everything else. Sometimes her dad called it the Hermione Effect after her mother. Though unlike her mother, Rose's whirling ideas started laying themselves out in her head in a linear way. Every step in its place.

"Will you excuse me?" she asked, eyes wide. Without thinking, Rose reached out and clasped Theodore's upper arm, only vaguely noticing how warm and muscled it was beneath his shirt. "I need to look into something."

Then she vanished from the stables. Leaving everything at the house.

*~*~*~*

_July 17th, 2025_

"Ascot," Rose said in place of a greeting, dumping an armful of books and papers onto the table when she reappeared at the manor. Scorpius gave her a bewildered expression before looking to Theodore for guidance. Rose rolled her eyes and started spreading out the papers. Some were printouts from the library, others were magazine articles from over a decade past with glossy pictures splashed across the pages.

"Royal Ascot Week. At the Ascot racecourse in Berkshire. It's this enormous and very old event that the muggles put on. There is racing and wagers… and hats." She pointed to one of the older pictures of a woman wearing a headpiece that resembled a full English breakfast.

Rose turned to Theodore. "You have more than enough land that we could transfigure and create a racecourse. I'm sure I could get my dad to connect me with someone from Games and Sports. And what better promotion than telling ladies that the most glamourous, most ostentatious, most elaborate hat wins a prize." Her attention went back to Scorpius. "Food would be simple. An outdoor luncheon. We don't even have to make it an evening event. Just a whole day and no one has done a horse race before."

When they didn't immediately speak, Rose started to feel her confidence waver. She'd been so thrilled by the idea and she'd even brought it up with her mum and Auntie Ginny to see if they thought there was merit and if they'd consider attending if there was a chance to have some fun with fancy hats. Her mum had been thrilled, mentioning something about a film and Eliza Doolittle. She looked back to the spread of pictures, sketches of hats, a blueprint of a racing track. 

"I like it," said Theodore.

Rose couldn't help the enormous smile that broke out on her face. "Really?"

"It's unique. Do you think you can pull it off?"

"I think _we_ can," she said, gesturing between three of them. She took out a new folder and held it out to Theodore. Everything was labelled and tabbed. She put on her best Prefect voice. "You're in charge of the horses, jockeys and arranging the race. I will still handle decor, invitations and fundraising. Scorpius will still organise food, of course."

A wry smile crossed his face as he took the folder and flipped it open. "Interesting."

Before Rose could ask what he meant by that, Scorpius started to laugh. "I told you. Once she gets going it's like being under a drill sergeant."

Rose smacked him with a spare folder. "Just start working on the food." She looked back to Theodore. "I know it will work. You know your horses. I think people will have fun. Donations flow a lot easier when people are having a good time."

Theodore nodded and got to his feet, flipping open the folder as he left the room. Rose was a little dismayed and she sank onto one of the chairs. It was a good idea, she was sure of it. Plus she'd done so much work on the idea over the last couple of days. Even putting ideas and thoughts into the other parts of the event that she wasn't in charge of. With a dismayed look, she glanced over at Scorpius.

To her surprise he had a wide grin on his face. "He's impressed."

"Are you sure?"

"C'mon Rose. He said he liked the idea and that it was interesting. That's high praise coming from Uncle Theodore." Scorpius reached for his own file. "Now I guess I can get to work on the refreshments." He stood up and then leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

*~*~*~*

_July 31st, 2025_

"It's a family gathering, Rose. You've been expected to attend for weeks," Hermione finished putting the last of the pins in her hair. She smoothed back a curl and turned to face her daughter.

"Mum, I still have a thousand things to arrange for this racing event. The men from Magical Games and Sports are coming tomorrow to finalise the track and the post office is delivering fifty owls so I can arrange deliveries of invitations and they were supposed to be at the house a week ago, but something happened and thirty of the owls came down with some kind of feather fungus. The only thing saving me is that Theodore let me use his Floo to make calls to people we are inviting so they had a heads up to the theme."

Hermione put up her hand and shook her head. Rose made a frustrated noise and stomped out of the room. This was entirely unfair. She was really invested in this project and it wasn't like Uncle Harry didn't have a birthday every single year. Why it had to be a huge family gathering that everyone had to attend, Rose didn't know. And not everyone attended for that matter. Teddy was exempt a lot of the time because he was often out of the country with Victoire during the summers.

She stormed into her room and yanked open the wardrobe door, pulling out summer dress after summer dress.

"Maybe if you hadn't gotten home at half-past eleven last night, missing dinner, they would have let you bow out," Hugo said from her doorway. "It's just another pureblood benefit to make them look good, dunno why you're so caught up in it."

Rose turned threw a sandal at him. Sometimes her brother sounded far too much like her father for his own good. "Oh just leave me alone."

Hours later, Rose was seated on the second floor staircase of her Aunt and Uncle's house, a scroll of parchment open on her lap. She dipped the quill into the inkwell on the floor beside her and wrote a few more lines to the speech. She'd already written something for Scorpius to say and something for herself to mention, but now she was working on her third draft of the speech that Theodore was to give at the start of the afternoon, just before the races started. Pausing, she read it over and then scratched out about five lines, frowning at it. 

It sounded like a teenager and that wasn't what she was trying to convey.

Feet came into view and Rose quickly folded the paper, not caring that the ink would smudge. She'd fix it later with magic. She looked up to see Albus standing above her. In one hand he had a plate, in the other was a wine glass. Scooting over on the step, she moved the inkwell and let him sit down.

"You missed cake," he said, holding out the plate to her. Rose took it and balanced it on her knee. "I didn't think anyone had the power to miss Grandma's cake, but you managed it."

Rose looked at the plate and sighed. She hadn't even heard them singing downstairs. "I've just got a lot I'm doing right now."

"I know. Scorpius told me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, though his words were somewhere along the lines of 'mad' 'off her gourd' 'obsessed', but I think busy works too." Albus gave her a smile and raked his fingers through his hair, standing it even more on end than it normally did. "You know he's kind of worried about you."

"Why is everyone so worried about me?" Rose turned and set the plate of cake on the stair behind her. She was getting so angry about all this concern over her involvement in this benefit. "I'm fine. This isn't too much. I've taken NEWTs that were harder than planning a horse race."

"Not the benefit, Rosie…" Albus shifted uncomfortably and tried to hide his unease behind a long sip of wine. "He thinks you've been taken in by his uncle."

Rose stared at Albus, mouth gaping. "That's… that's preposterous!"

He put up his hands and shook his head. "I'm just saying. He's worried. Says his uncle isn't the sort that should be idolized. I mean, Scorpius cares for the man… he wouldn't call him uncle if he didn't. But Scorpius also cares about you."

Rose got to her feet, stooping to pick up the inkwell, quill and the folded parchment. "Well you can tell Scorpius that I'm just fine and he doesn't need to worry about me. _No one_ needs to worry about me!"

"Oh come on Rose…" Albus said, starting to get to his feet.

But she'd already stalked off, descending the stairs. Pausing briefly, she wished her Uncle Harry a happy birthday, but excused herself with apologies. Before anyone could respond, she quickly exited the house and got herself beyond the wards and onto the street, disappearing with a crack.

She _did_ mean to go home. She'd had the intention and had even gotten as far as her own front step. But at the last moment she'd changed her mind and apparated again. There were wards on the house at night so she knew she'd have to knock on the front door. Theodore's elf greeted her with surprise, but let her in when she mentioned the benefit. All she wanted was to finish her work and have everything ready to make the next day run smoothly.

Seating herself at the long dining room table where they'd all been working for the last few weeks, she started on the invitations, matching each one to the guest list and then to a map so they could be grouped in the best delivery grouping possible. It didn't make sense to give one owl two letters at opposite sides of the country after all. She was halfway through the stack of invitations when she heard the large side door open.

"Did you not have a birthday party you were supposed to be at tonight?" Theodore asked. 

Rose looked over, her mouth opening in surprise. Every other time she'd been around Theodore Nott, Rose had seen him in a well made suit, except for that one time in the stables. At such a late hour, it was anything but. His shirt was unbuttoned and the cuffs of his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows. He wasn't wearing any shoes or socks. That alone shocked her. She hadn't even thought it was possible for Theodore Nott to walk around his house without shoes or socks on.

"It was almost over and I had so much to do. I just wanted to get these last things done and I would have come sooner but there was the party, as you said, and I had to put in an appearance. But I won't be long. There's just the list of invites and the owl delivery and I've contacted everyone already ahead of time so they aren't surprised by the hat contest. The Ministry will be here between ten and twelve... "

Her voice trailed off as he crossed the room towards her. Instead of the familiar click of his shoes against the wood floors, all she heard was soft sound of bare skin touching the hard surface. Theodore reached out and took her hand. He didn't even have to say so, but there was a clear indication that he didn't think she needed to speak just then. Instead he led her through the dining room and outside.

Overhead the moon was just starting to wax, a thin sliver of it showing against the dark of the sky. Beneath her shoes, the stones made a delicate crunching sound. Rose wanted to ask if he was alright with walking about in bare feet, but then noticed that he wasn't on the path. Instead he was walking on the grass beside it.

"It occurs to me that you might be a little overwhelmed." Theodore let go of her hand and pushed open the door to the stables before extending his hand to her once more. This time Rose didn't hesitate or wait for him to initiate contact; she took it gladly. "I was planning on going out myself, but I think you could use the distraction a little more than I. So I'd like you to just step away for a few moments and not let this whole event next month drown you."

"But why the—" Rose started to ask, the question being answered by Goliath standing in the middle of the stables, fully saddled. She looked down at herself, light summer dress and strappy, flat sandals then back at the enormous black horse. "You're not serious."

"I don't joke when it comes to allowing people to ride my horses."

Theodore led her over to Goliath. The horse watched her with dark eyes, shifting as she approached. He was enormous and Rose took a couple of steps backward, shaking her head. It wasn't that she was afraid of the large animal. Far from it. She thought the horse was beautiful. But he was too big for her to handle. She had only ridden a few times as a child and that had been under controlled circumstances.

"I couldn't possibly… maybe one of your smaller ones. I'm not experienced enough for him."

Theodore looked at her for a long moment and then turned to the horse. He fit his foot into the stirrup and swung up onto Goliath's back, sitting just behind the saddle. Leaning over, he held out both hands and then nodded toward the saddle. Before he'd even moved, it dawned on her that he meant to ride with her sitting in front of him. She hesitated. It was dark and she was here at the house on her own. What if she got hurt?

But there was something in his expression that caused butterflies to start whirling around her stomach.

Without another thought, Rose took his hand and suddenly she was in the air and then astride the horse. Her skirt bunched up around her thighs and she didn't quite know what to do with it other than tuck the fabric as best she could under them. She noticed that he held the reins and was already starting Goliath toward the door. So Rose gripped the front part of the saddle and held on.

"I've been practicing Goliath on the track these last couple of nights. He likes the flat surface and getting up to a good clip." Theodore spoke into her right ear as the horse walked down the path toward where they'd constructed the track.

"I hope you've been doing that with every horse," Rose tried to tease, but it came out sounding a little nervous. "It wouldn't be fair if he had the advantage."

She felt his chest rumble behind her as he laughed. The sensation was delightful and she leaned back into it slightly. She felt him shift the reins into one hand, which vaguely touched in her memory as being the American style and not something one ought to do when riding an English saddle. His free hand flattened against her stomach and she sucked in a breath at the sudden contact. Slowly he urged her to tip forward so they could duck under a branch of a tree. When they both straightened, his hand remained against her front, the other not even really doing much with the reins. He seemed content in letting Goliath take the lead.

"I admire your drive," he said after the horse had walked for a few minutes. "It's almost a bit Slytherin of you, this ambition to succeed. But if the Hat offered it to you, with your family's history, I could see why you would have chosen Ravenclaw."

"Some of my best study partners and some of my best friends have been Slytherin," Rose said, acutely aware of each of his fingertips shifting against her stomach and unsure where the urge had come from to shift in her seat and get those fingers to move. "Or they come from Slytherin families. Like Scorpius. I think I work well with them and that we understand one another very well."

"I think Slytherin would have taught you how to manage your penchant for taking on so much." He rested his chin on her bare shoulder, just to one side of the thin strap of her dress.

Rose couldn't help but smile. "I seem to recall you being the one to give me all the files after the other two witches left."

His hand moved to rest on her thigh. "You didn't say no. I only stopped giving you things to do because you wouldn't say no."

Rose sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders a little. "I think I know when I've reached my own limits."

"Do you?" Theodore's fingertips tapped against the soft skin of her thigh and Rose felt them slide a little higher. "I'm starting to wonder if you know how to say no. Perhaps everyone looking out for you is right about me."

"I'm actually rather tired of people looking out for me as though I'm made of spun glass." She turned a little and looked at him, her chin raising slightly. "I'm not a child and I _know_ my own limits."

He smiled at her then in a way that _almost_ made her regret what she said. It was a wolfish sort of smile she had never seen on his face and it somewhat startled her. But whatever the feeling, unease or unsettlement, it vanished quickly. So did most of her complicated thoughts about how wrong this might be and that she ought to rethink what she was doing. Spontaneity for her was difficult, but Rose was tired of thinking about what she did before she did it. 

But that didn't say she wouldn't try to stop. For a little bit at least.

He didn't say much. He didn't have to because his fingertips said all that was needed to be said. They walked themselves gently up the soft skin of her inner thigh; Rose felt goosebumps start to rise up across her entire body. She was about to say something because extended periods of silence always made her want to fill them with sound, but before a word could be uttered, one of his fingertips nudged its way under her knickers. Rose inhaled sharply, words that she'd meant to speak getting lost somewhere in the back of her throat.

How she'd become so aroused, so quickly, Rose wasn't quite sure, but his finger moved easily across her. It dipped low and then slid itself along her flesh, spreading the wetness about. The sensation was more powerful than she'd ever experienced on her own before. Whenever she had tried, it was her knowing exactly what her fingers were doing and where they were going. The feelings were usually less than satisfactory. Theodore, however, was flicking switches inside of her with every movement.

And just when she thought it couldn't get any better, his finger began circling rapidly around her clit. The movement sent crackling sparks up and down her body and Rose was hesitant to admit to herself that the moans heard on the air were coming from her. It was better than fantasy. And she'd had those fantasies. Granted, they didn't involve being fingered on the back of a horse in the middle of the night… but her dreams had definitely shifted over the weeks from rugged quidditch players to elegant hands and elegant fingers and popping the buttons of a well made suit.

Reaching up behind her, Rose cupped the back of his neck, tugging him a little until his mouth pressed to her shoulder. She didn't know what exactly she wanted, just that she wanted more. And somehow he understood and he was kissing her shoulder and her neck, his teeth were scraping her skin and everything was fireworks and the finish line and Rose couldn't stop herself from the shuddering cry as her whole body tightened up and pulsed with a quaking release.

Rose didn't remember when Goliath had chosen to make his way back, but soon they were back at the stables. All she could remember was being swept away in the sensations. The next thing she knew was that he was moving away and sliding off the back of the horse, reaching up to help her down onto legs that weren't quite steady. Theodore didn't quite let her go. Instead he hitched up her dress skirt and hooked his thumbs into her knickers, tugging them down until she could step out.

Watching him tuck the bit of fabric into his pocket, Rose somehow felt more exposed just then than she had the entire time on the horse.

Theodore gestured politely to the door of the stables and the left, Goliath being untacked by the stable elves.

"Rose!" 

The sudden voice caused her to jump and to her utter horror and embarrassment, Ron stood at the back door to the house. Even in the dim light coming from the windows she could see that his face was beet red with fury. He looked first at her and then at Theodore, stalking down the path towards them. Rose stepped forward, wanting to say something that would placate her father, but he stormed right past her and took a sudden swing at Theodore, catching him in the chin and knocking him down.

"Dad!"

"I should arrest you for kidnapping a child!" He roared, pointing at Theodore. "What… did you wait at our house and take her when she got home?!"

Rose grabbed her father's arm. "Stop it!" He shook her off and she grabbed at him again. "Theodore… Mr Nott didn't do anything! I came here on my own to work on some last minute things!"

Ron rounded on her. "Rose it is past midnight. Your mother is out of her mind and you left your uncle's party! For this?!"

"I had things to do," she crossed her arms and scowled, brushing aside the niggling thought that she was actually telling a lie. "And you wouldn't let me skip the party so I wouldn't _have_ to leave early." Rose pointed at Theodore who was slowly getting to his feet. "Apologise to Mr Nott!"

Ron gave her a dark look and without saying anything, grabbed onto her arm and apparated the both of them home. He held out her wand, obviously having grabbed it from inside the house. She shifted slightly, aware of the fact that her knickers were still in Theodore's pocket back at the estate. 

"He's _my_ age, Rose," Ron said angrily. "How do you think it looks when you're so keen to spend all your time with him? I won't have you working there anymore!"

Then for the second time in her life, Rose lied to her father. "I needed to finish up sorting through the invitations that need to be in the post tomorrow and Mr Nott took me to ask my opinion on the horses! I was on my way back to the house to get my wand so I could come home." She pointed at her father. "I wish you and everyone else would stop assuming that I'm doing something I shouldn't! I'm eighteen and this is important to me."

"Then I take you there and I bring you home. Nine to start, six to finish and you don't argue with me," Ron folded his arm across his chest. He held up his hand. "Those are my term, Rosie. I don't like him. And I don't like what he's turning you into. So if you want to keep working on this charity and live here… then I need you to agree to this."

Rose threw her hands in the air with a frustrated growl, stalking off to her bedroom. She slammed the door and leaned against it. 

Looking around her bedroom, Rose scowled. With its lace and the stuffed toys on her shelves and drawings she'd done in primary school, everything about it screamed little girl. She didn't feel like a little girl anymore. Her body still hummed with the memory of Theodore's touch and she certainly didn't think that her toys were appropriate at this point. Pushing off the door, she held out her wand and started summoning all the remnants of childhood. One by one her walls cleared and the shelves. Rose transfigured an old rucksack into a large box and started filling it with papers and toys until everything was packed away. 

Her clock read close to two in the morning when she finally finished and climbed into bed.

She wasn't little Rosie anymore.

Just Rose.

*~*~*~*

_August, 15 2025_

Despite the inability to spend longer hours working on the upcoming event (true to his word Ron came with her at nine in the morning and promptly showed up at six to take her home) Rose still managed to get everything done. Invitations and RSVPs were sent and received, everything kept it the right order. The racetrack was approved and all the proper safety spells were signed off on. Scorpius had the menu set, the drinks planned and had even convinced a contingent of sixth years to work as servers for the day.

She and Theodore didn't bring up that night in July. She didn't know if it was because of her father or because of her. But they just didn't talk about it. She wondered, at first, if she should feel used or discarded, but things got too busy for her to dwell on it, so she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and worked on getting the event finalised.

Two weeks later, Rose stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, carefully adjusting the dress she was wearing. On her head, pinned to her hair, was an elaborate hat with artificial doves curled up in a nest. One of the doves had its wings extended as if it was about to take flight from her head. She'd seen a hat similar to this once in an animated film filled with music and mythos and it had always stuck with her. Tucking her wand into the beaded expanding purse that her mother had let her borrow, Rose walked out of the room and joined her family.

In moments they were at the Nott estate. Rose pointed to the collection of pristine white tents that were on the other side of the stables.

"You can place your wagers there. Food will be served closer to the course. Just follow the flags along the path," she said, gesturing to the house. "I need to check that everything is settled and the jockeys are assigned. I'll be back and forth all day. Please have fun. It's for a good cause."

She left them on their own and hurried up to the house.

To her relief, everything was running smoothly. Scorpius was directing the elves in the kitchen and the servers with trays of lunch canapés. Rose gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek and a wide smile before she hurried through to the kitchens to the staging area. The jockeys were just finishing with their silks, heading out to the stables. Some were small, others were taller. It didn't matter as Theodore's horses varied in size.

She pulled the speech cards out of her purse and handed them to Theodore. "I gave them a final once over last night."

"Thank you, Rose," he said, straightening his tie. He tucked the cards into his inside pocket and followed the last of the Jockeys out into the sunlight.

Rose did a slow turn and drew in a long breath. In six weeks she'd managed to help put together a successful event that she could only guess would have taken anyone else much longer. It was a unique event. She'd not ever heard of the purebloods participating in something along these lines. Most charitable affairs were dances and Theodore had been right, they were all the same. So much so that people were disinclined to give generously because they were bored of the same old tired events.

She smiled, standing a little taller. She was proud of what she, Scorpius and Theodore had accomplished in six weeks. And no one could take that away from her.

With a bit of a spring to her step, Rose left the staging area to join everyone else at the track.

*~*~*~*

The crowd let out an enormous roar as Goliath crossed the finish line a half length ahead of the horse in second place. Some of the women threw their fancy hats into the air and it looked like an array of colourful birds taking to the wing. Rose cheered and clapped for Goliath and his jockey, giving Scorpius a hug. She'd had a feeling this would be the outcome, but hadn't said anything about it to anyone.

Hannah Longbottom won the hat contest with a magically lightened, full-sized, keg that poured real butterbeer into glasses for her to hand out. Rose presented the little plaque and the bottle of vintage port for her to display at the Leaky Cauldron. She beamed at the honour, her cheeks pink with pride. Rose glanced out into the crowd and could already see a number of upper society women already planning next year's hats.

It took some convincing, but Rose managed to talk her parents into letting her stay to see everyone off and to help organize the clean-up. 

"I wouldn't feel right just leaving now that the race is over."

Ron opened his mouth to say something but closed it again when Hermione placed a warning hand on his arm. She gave him a stern look and then turned to her daughter. "I'm very proud of you, Rose. We all are. If you need to stay and help then we're okay with that." She pulled Rose into a hug. "We're going to trust you on this, alright?"

Rose returned the hug, squeezing her mother tightly. "Thanks mum. I'll see you later."

As the guests left, Rose removed her dove hat, setting it on the table in the staging room. She kicked off her shoes and left them against the wall. Soon she found herself picking up jockey silk from all over the floor. With an annoyed sigh, she flicked her wand at the mess and the silks started packing themselves back into their parcels to be sent off to the cleaners. Rose started picking up the papers, removing schedules from the wall and a map of the grounds with events listed next to all the locations.

"You know I have elves to do the cleanup," Theodore's voice spoke from the door leading outside. "You don't need to stay."

"I want to save all these plans. I think this would be a good thing to have as an ongoing event. Please say you won't remove the track. It was such a good idea and your home is perfect for it." Rose held the pages close to her chest, looking at him.

"I'll consider it." He moved one of the chairs back to its original spot. "Everyone else has left, though. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of your father's ire if he finds out you're here unchaperoned." Theodore rubbed the spot on his chin where Ron had punched him.

Rose huffed, setting the papers into a case on the table. "My parents need to remember that I'm not a little girl anymore." She rounded on him, surprising even herself at how cross she was. "You too, for that matter. You haven't said a word to me about what we… about that…" She waved her hand.

"I don't believe you brought it up either," Theodore leaned against the table, looking infuriatingly amused at her.

Her mouth opened, wanting to argue more, but she closed it. He was right. He was aggravating, but he was also right. If she was grown up, she could have brought up that night with him on her own. Instead she'd just waited and waited for him to make the first move. Where was it written that men had to make the first move, that they had to owl first or that they had to ask the questions? It didn't seem like it made a whole lot of sense and Rose was starting to realise that.

So she made the move.

Snapping the briefcase shut, she pushed it aside. Then she stepped closer to Theodore and without trying to put much logical thought into it, she flung her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down, pressing her mouth to his.

She'd been wondering what it would be like to kiss him. If she was honest with herself, she'd been wondering about it for a lot longer than the last two weeks. His mouth was warm against hers, but the electricity that she'd felt at the end of July seemed to be a dim hum at the most. Confused, she drew back meeting his gaze.

"Did I do it wrong?" she asked.

"No," he said, the word puffing softly across her lips.

"Then what?" Rose turned her head slightly and saw that he hadn't even moved his hands, but that his fingers gripped the edge of the table.

"If I start," he said, his words now ruffling her hair, "I won't stop."

Slowly, Rose turned her head back. She searched his expression for a moment and then tightened her arms, her whole body arching up to press against him. "I'm not asking you to stop. I'm asking you to start."

He looked at her for a long moment and Rose wondered if she'd pushed him too far. But before she could apologise and let go, his arms came around her and his mouth nearly slammed against hers. The kiss was like fire had been set to her toes, crawling up her legs and body until everything was aflame. This kiss knocked the breath from her lungs and she felt her knees turn to jelly. There were kisses, then there were _kisses_ and as his mouth slanted across hers, lips parting and teeth scraping, this was definitely the latter of the two.

The room felt like it was bending around her. When he finally drew back, Rose opened her eyes and realised that they were no longer downstairs. 

Before she had time to get her bearings and comment on the change in location, his hands were on her again. They made short work of the zipper down the back of her dress. As the fabric slipped from her, pooling around her ankles, she heard his intake of breath. Although she was wearing a bra (she was not the sort of girl who could go without unless a lot of boning or spells were involved), Rose had foregone with knickers.

"You made off with them last time," she said, stepping out of the dress puddle and reaching behind herself to undo the hooks of her bra, shrugging it off and feeling rather bold in the process. Maybe there was a little bit of Gryffindor hiding somewhere inside of her after all. 

Theodore stood and watched her. She found herself realising that she rather liked when he didn't speak. His expression said so much more than words and there was a dark, hungry look in his eyes that thrilled her. Reaching up, Rose tugged at the tie, pulling it undone and slipping it off. Next she plucked away the cufflinks and dropped them on her dress behind her. Then slowly she undid his shirt, popping buttons down the length of his torso until she could push it from his shoulders. 

Two weeks ago, she'd only seen a portion of his chest through his unbuttoned shirt. Now she was seeing it in its entirety. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against the space in the middle of his chest. Small hairs tickled her lips and she smiled. Her hands made short work of his belt, the fly on his trousers and as she pushed them down, her fingers brushed along the length of his erection, eliciting a hiss from him.

Theodore grabbed her wrist then turned, nudging her back towards the bed. As she sat down, he kicked off his shoes, trousers and socks, climbing onto the bed with her.

This was the point where she thought he might ask again. It tended to be the norm for all those romance novels she used to borrow from Roxanne. The 'are you sure' moment. The point where every hero paused to ask if it was alright to continue. Theodore didn't ask her. He didn't treat her like some fluttering maiden. Instead he slid his hands over her body, his mouth following the path of his fingers. 

He touched her everywhere. More than he had when they'd been on horseback. His lips worried at her nipples and his fingers slipped inside of her. Rose felt herself wind tighter and tighter. She truly hadn't expected it to feel _this good_. She'd always heard horror stories of first time experiences but this was nothing like that. Rose twisted and moaned, squealing into a pillow when she came the first time.

There had been some discomfort as he slid into her with a groan so loud she thought perhaps everyone in England would hear. But when he looked at her, she watched as the realization flashed across his face. Obviously her discomfort was easy to read but in an attempt to assuage his concern, she curled one leg around the back of his thigh and slid her hands up his chest. She wanted this. He had to know that she wanted this and that she wasn't ashamed that Theodore Nott would be her first.

Rose leaned up and kissed the spot between his collarbones. "Don't stop."

Moving slowly at first, Theodore drew his hips back and then surged forward. Each push and pull brought a sigh from her lips. The sensation was amazing and soon her hips were rising and falling to meet his. He reached above her head and gripped the headboard of his bed, changing the intensity of the thrusts. Rose arched her back and couldn't stop herself from moaning. Each deep thrust sent waves up her spine and when his hand slid between their moving bodies, his thumb pressing to her clit, Rose was lost.

Her fingers dug into his chest and she bucked against him, crying out as her whole body seemed to fly apart and snap together at the same time. His hips snapped twice more against hers before he drew back suddenly, a pulsing warmth sliding across her belly as he came. Rose lifted her head, looking at him as he held his cock in one hand, the head of it aimed at her stomach.

For some reason it was the most erotic thing she had ever seen and it caused a thrill to run across her spine.

In the aftermath, Theodore left the bed. He retrieved his wand and vanished away the mess left on her body. It was a tender sort of thing that touched her deeply. Rose sat up, looking over at him as he stretched out on the bed beside her. She leaned over and kissed him, cupping her hand against his cheek. His fingertips brushed against the curve of her breast. A sigh tumbled from her mouth.

Followed by words.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I should go home."

She swung her legs off the bed, standing unsteadily for a moment before she gained control of them and then walked over to her clothing. She dressed herself, pausing to return to the bed so he could help her zip the dress and then sat beside him. Theodore didn't speak while she did this, only handed her his wand. She summoned her other things, shoes, hat and purse, from downstairs.

"You're quite the young woman, Rose Weasley," he said thoughtfully. "I will assume that you don't mean to come back."

"I'm not going to trick myself into believing that I could be a permanent feature in your life. It would hurt too many people. And you don't need me. You don't need a wife or a girlfriend. I don't think I need a husband or a boyfriend. I just… you never saw me as someone's little girl."

"And you never saw me as the evil Slytherin that everyone likes to make me out to be."

Rose smiled and opened the beaded purse, taking out her own wand. "I would like to stay on the race planning committee. Maybe it could be given its own office in the Ministry. I really like working with charities and I think I could recruit others to get involved."

Theodore sat up and curled his fingers around the side of her neck, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He didn't say anything else. Rose didn't think that he needed to, or that she needed to either. Instead she gave him a nod and stood up. She wasn't a little girl. Maybe she wasn't a grownup just yet. But at least she knew which direction she was heading and that was important to her. With a quiet goodbye to Theodore, Rose apparated herself home. The sun had just finished setting and dinner was being pulled from the table. Rose made her apologies and started to help Hermione clear the dishes.

"So do you think there might be a spot for me at the Ministry in September? My CV is going to look amazing with this summer project," she said, giving her mum a smile.

"You'd have to start at the bottom like every other employee," Hermione replied, tossing a dishtowel over.

"That's okay, mum. I think I'm grown up enough to handle myself."

*~*~*~*


End file.
